New 'stand your ground' abuse shows need to change law

Thursday

Jul 26, 2018 at 4:13 PM

Twenty years ago, Markeis McGlockton almost certainly would be alive, and Michael Drejka would not be living with the accusation that he got away with murder.

In 2005, however, Florida created the "stand your ground" law. It was one of Tallahassee's most irresponsible actions. The latest consequence played out last Thursday afternoon at a convenience store in Clearwater.

McGlockton parked in a spot reserved for the handicapped. His girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, and two of their children waited in the idling SUV. McGlockton and their 5-year-old son went inside to buy chips and drinks. It was hot.

Drejka approached Jacobs to complain about where the vehicle was parked. The argument escalated to what investigators called "yelling."

Hearing it, McGlockton came out and shoved Drejka to the pavement with what investigators called "great force." Drejka pulled a gun. McGlockton backed off. Drejka shot him in the chest. McGlockton staggered into the store and collapsed. His son saw him die.

Barring an unexpected development, Drejka will not face charges. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said "stand your ground" prevented him from arresting Drejka. Though Gualtieri sent the case to the state attorney's office, his comment and failure to arrest Drejka make it unlikely that prosecutors will overrule him.

Even if they charged Drejka, prosecutors would face the new burden from the Legislature's 2017 expansion of "stand your ground," which Gov. Rick Scott signed. They would have to prove that Drejka didn't deserve immunity under "stand your ground." Drejka would not have to prove that he did.

We saw this coming 13 years ago. Then-Miami Police Chief John Timoney and other law enforcement officials warned against "stand your ground," which removed the duty to retreat and expanded the castle doctrine from a home to anywhere _ such as a convenience store parking lot. Reckless guns owners, Timoney said, would believe that they had "total immunity."

The Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush, however, listened to the National Rifle Association. Though the NRA never offered an example of wrongful prosecution for self-defense, only 20 of the 160 legislators voted against "stand your ground." Dennis Baxley, the mortician who sponsored it, said, "People want to know we stand on the side of victims of crime instead of the side of criminals."

In this case, though, who was the "victim" and the "criminal?" McGlockton parked illegally, but he committed no crime. Abuse of handicapped spots correctly bothers lots of people, but they don't generally confront someone over it, much less start yelling.

McGlockton shoved Drejka, but Drejka began the confrontation with Jacobs. Was McGlockton starting a fight or protecting his family? McGlockton didn't make a second advance after Drejka showed his gun. He wasn't armed. Yet Drejka fired anyway.

Since 2005, Florida has compounded the dangers of "stand your ground" by making the requirements to obtain a conceal carry permit as easy as attending traffic school. Drejka had such a permit. He also had a history of harassing people over parking at that store. The owner told ABC that he has had to call the police about Drejka. So you had a hothead with a gun emboldened by a law.

The Legislature, Slaughter said, should repeal the provision that assigns civil liability to a law enforcement agency that arrests someone who makes a successful "stand your ground" defense. The Legislature also should repeal that burden of proof expansion, which is unique to "stand your ground" cases.

Predictably, reaction falls along party lines. Democrats running for attorney general criticized "stand your ground." The Republicans praised Gualtieri and the law, which supposedly is about public safety but turned a parking lot into a killing field over nothing.

Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge Ashley Moody issued a talking point about the right to self-defense. Republican State Rep. Frank White said Drejka "was attacked and he stood his ground to defend himself." No Republican running in a statewide primary will gain votes by defending a black man who seemed to be threatening a white man.

As for Gualtieri, he refused to "substitute my judgment" for Drejka's. He also said, though, "I am a firm believer in the adage that 'Just because you can doesn't mean you should.' "

In Florida, people can, and they do.

Randy Schultz is a columnist for the Orlando Sun-Sentinel.

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